Keywords
Citation
(2014), "2013 Awards for Excellence", International Journal of Law in the Built Environment, Vol. 6 No. 1/2. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLBE-04-2014-001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2013 Awards for Excellence
Article Type: 2013 Awards for Excellence From: International Journal of Law in the Built Environment, Volume 6, Issue 1/2
The following article was selected for this year’s Outstanding Paper Award for International Journal of Law in the Built Environment
"Forced eviction and planning enforcement: the Dale Farm Gypsies"
Robert Home
Law School, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford, UK
Purpose – Forced eviction is a topic of growing importance globally, and the purpose of this article is to investigate a much-publicised recent case involving Gypsies and Travellers in the UK (not usually a country associated with such actions).
Design/methodology/approach – After setting the context of planning enforcement law in the UK, Green Belt and other planning policies, and the status of Gypsies/Travellers as a disadvantaged minority group, the paper traces the history of the Dale Farm eviction over a 25-year period and analyses the legal arguments put to the High Court in unsuccessful attempts to defer and over-turn the eviction, against the context of internationally agreed guidelines.
Findings – The research found that the judiciary gave full consideration to all aspects, in accordance with ECHR case law, and upheld the Green Belt and planning objections. The UK Government was determined to proceed, resisting various offers of mediation, and the site was cleared even though no appropriate alternative accommodation was available, and notwithstanding that the occupiers owned their own plots.
Originality/value – The case is a new development in a long-running history of forced eviction of Gypsies by local authorities and is of interest in comparative study of treatment of Gypsies in other European countries, particularly in the context of the recent European Union Roma Inclusion Strategy.
Keywords: Forced eviction, Green belt, Gypsies in UK, Planning enforcement, Town and country planning, United Kingdom
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/IJLBE-04-2014-001
This article originally appeared in Volume 4 Number 3, 2012, International Journal of Law in the Built Environment
Outstanding reviewer
Professor Nicholas Hopkins